Delta Air profit falls 36.5 percent

Delta Air Lines Inc on Thursday reported a 36.5 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit and forecast passenger unit revenue, a closely watched metric, to be flat to up 2 percent in early 2017.

Net income fell to $622 million, or 84 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $980 million, or $1.25 per share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the No. 2 airline by passenger traffic earned 82 cents per share.

Total operating revenue fell to $9.46 billion from $9.50 billion.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)